Letourneau's future with Bruins looking up, thanks to 6-foot-7 frame

BOSTON -- If there is one thing that’s tough to miss about Dean Letourneau, it’s his height. The 18-year-old center, selected by the Boston Bruins with the No. 25 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, stands a whopping 6-foot-7, a fact that seems at odds with his baby face.

It seems at odds, too, with the description of how he plays on the ice.

“That was our big message to Dean over the last two years … was about learning how to play bigger,” said David Manning, his coach at St. Andrew’s College, a prep school in Aurora, Ontario. “He very much played like a small player who happened to be, 6-4, 6-5, 6-7 now.

“The way he created offense and his movement patterns were all very much like a small player would play, trying to utilize his reach and get pucks in people’s feet and he played a lot of his offense facing his defenders, whereas bigger players tend to feel comfortable with defenders at their back and kind of can feel the pressure and lean on people and are good along the boards. All these are growth areas for Dean.”

To that end, Letourneau had a stroke of luck. With forward Will Smith opting to leave Boston College and sign a three-year, entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks on May 28, a spot opened for Letourneau. Not only will he face top NCAA competition, he will be close to the watchful eye of the Bruins organization after leading St. Andrew's with 127 points (61 goals, 66 assists) in 56 games last season.

“Hard not to notice him, at his size,” Boston player development coordinator Adam McQuaid said. “You notice his calmness around the net. Smooth, good hands. Just a big frame (210 pounds). But you look at him, still such a young kid. … Excited to see where he can get to.”

McQuaid will be watching how Letourneau makes the jump to the NCAA, a big step up from prep school.

“He’s got to get stronger, obviously,” Manning said. “He’s got to put some weight on his frame. Being that tall is actually a bit of a disadvantage when you’re not as strong as you need to be. He’s very long and he’s got a big wingspan, so it sometimes gets him off-balance if he’s not strong enough to get going against opponents. 

“I feel like that’s going to be the biggest adjustment is just learning how to lean into playing physical against bigger, stronger opponents.”

That will take time. 

But Letourneau has plenty of that; the Bruins seem in no danger of rushing a player who constantly gets compared to Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson, himself a player who took time to blossom. Manning sees the great touch, the puck handling, the size, and sees similar foundational skills.

“He has all the attributes,” Manning said. 

Thompson spent two years at the University of Connecticut. Manning envisions at least that much time at BC for Letourneau, calling two years of college “the baseline,” with likely three years needed.

But after that? The sky could be the limit. 

“I think that’s where everyone saw his potential is that you’ve got this big guy who doesn’t even play big yet,” Manning said. “When he learns how to do that -- and I think they all eventually do because they realize the advantage of that -- wow, he’s going to have almost unlimited potential.”

And, as Letourneau said at Bruins development camp last week, “Dream’s just starting now. Just got to keep working every day to make it come true.”